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Ian McLagan

Ian McLagan is a genuine, dyed-in-the-wool rock’n’roller. In fact, his smiling visage — he was, after all, a member of Small Faces and Faces— would serve as an ideal illustration in the proverbial Dictionary of What Is Truly Cool.
The man known to his many mates and even more fans and admirers as ‘Mac’ is the sort who shrugs off such puffery. And then he just carries on creating splendid and genuine rock’n’roll with his Bump Band as well as musically aid and abet a marquee line-up of truly blue ribbon talent that he has toured and/or recorded with: The Rolling Stones, Bobbie Womack, Bonnie Raitt, New Barbarians, Bob Dylan, David Lindley, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Taj Mahal, Paul Westerberg, John Hiatt, Billy Bragg, Keith Richards, Patty Griffin, Warren Haynes, Jennifer Nettles and Lucinda Williams, to name just some of the notables that McLagan has worked with over his five decade career.
He has also etched his distinctive musical talents onto the playlist of rock’n’roll history, co-writing such Faces hits as Cindy Incidentally, You’re So Rude, Bad'n'Ruin and Three Button Hand Me Down. His distinctive Wurlitzer electric piano is heard on everything from Stay With Me by the Faces to the smash hit Miss You by The Rolling Stones, and Mac’s trademark Hammond B-3 organ is featured on the Small Faces classic Itchycoo Park and Rod Stewart’s Maggie May and You Wear It Well.
McLagan entered the music game in London in 1963, and you can read all about it in his recently reprinted memoir, All The Rage, a book that The Express hailed as “One of the best music books in years.” He ascended from the Small Faces to the pinnacle of rock with the Faces when Rod Stewart and Ron Wood joined the band. The rollicking Faces ruled 1970s album radio and sales charts as well as the stadiums, arenas and festivals around the world, leaving countless satisfied fans, many wild tales and more than a few quivering hotel managers in their wake. Whether McLagan is singing, writing and playing his own music or as the go-to guy for a session or tour, he has been and remains the quintessence of rock’n’roll.
Since his debut solo album, Troublemaker, in 1979 McLagan has been making music in his own right that carries on the British rock tradition that he helped establish with the Small Faces and Faces on the albums Bump In The Night (1980), Best Of British (2000) and Rise & Shine! (2004). “It’s all raw, up front, in your face, rollicking greasy good-time music done by a master,” says All Music Guide of Rise & Shine!
In 2006, he released a touching tribute to his old bandmate, Spiritual Boy: An Appreciation of Ronnie Lane, acclaimed by the Dallas Observer as “a warm and fitting salute to one of rock’s sadly unsung master songwriters and a must-have disc.” Spiritual Boy garnered chart success in Mojo and leaves a trail of glowing reviews in Rolling Stone, No Depression, Uncut, and Goldmine.
Glyn Johns, his old pal from Small Faces and Faces days, mixed and mastered Ian McLagan’s beautiful and emotionally raw CD, Never Say Never at Sphere Studios in London in 2008, and released it on 2:59 Records. McLagan produced and directed the album with all original songs at The Doghouse Studio in Manor, Texas. Patty Griffin graces Never Say Never with her soulful vocals and she and the Tosca Strings can be heard on the final track, the heart wrenching When The Crying Is Over.
McLagan moved to Austin in 1994, and the Bump Band has included some of the city’s best players. The current band members are: Scrappy Jud Newcomb, one of Austin’s busiest and best guitarists (The Resentments, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Slaid Cleaves and Beaver Nelson), bassist Jon Notarthomas (Aimee Bobruk, Craig Marshall), and drummer Conrad Choucroun (Damnations, NRBQ and Bob Schneider). Those not fortunate to catch Mac & the Bump Band on tour or, in their 10 year weekly residency at Austin’s Lucky Lounge can enjoy the magic on their 2013 release Live At The Lucky Lounge. Engineered and mixed by Darwin Smith, and mastered by Bob Olhsson, the 14 tracks feature Mac, piano, organ & vocals; Scrappy, guitar & vocals; Jon, bass & vocals; and Conrad, drums & vocals. Check the GIGS section for dates, or hit LISTEN to listen to what you're missing!
Awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello Award in 1996 for his outstanding contributions to British music, inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member pf both Small Faces & Faces, McLagan is beloved by musicians and music lovers alike. He produced the Faces four CD boxed set, Five guys walk into a bar… for Rhino Records, and received a rare honor on April 6th, 2006, when it was proclaimed Ian ‘Mac‘ McLagan Day in Austin Texas. But rather than rest on his laurels, Ian McLagan continues to do what he has always done best: rock’n’roll.
Ian McLagan & the Bump Band's newest studio album United States was released in June 2014 on Yep Roc Records. Produced and directed by Mac, it was engineered by Darwin Smith at The Doghouse Studio, mixed by Glyn Johns at British Grove Studios, London, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering, Portland ME. Mac, Scrappy, Jon & Conrad are the only musicians and vocalists on the record, except for the Leigh Mahoney's violins on the final track.

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